alan... wrote:i am trying to redouble my efforts in sattipatthana by refreshing my practical knowledge with these books and i would like some guidance and i have a lot of questions.

You might want to start listening to this series of talks, which are not a matter of theoretical knowledge; rather, they reflect a practical, experiential knowledge based upon years of practice and teaching.

Sayādaw U Pandita is one of the leading disciples of the Venerable Mahāsi Sayādaw.

His book (In this Very Life) is the product of a three month retreat at Barre, Mass. His interpreter at that retreat was Bhikkhu Aggacitta, who is the abbot of the Sāsanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary in Malaysia.

My own meditation teacher was Chanmyay Sayādaw who is another leading disciple of the Sayādaw. I practised for several years in Burma at both Chanmyay Yeikthā and Mahāsi Yeikthā.

alan... wrote:i am trying to redouble my efforts in sattipatthana by refreshing my practical knowledge with these books and i would like some guidance and i have a lot of questions.

You might want to start listening to this series of talks, which are not a matter of theoretical knowledge; rather, they reflect a practical, experiential knowledge based upon years of practice and teaching.

mostly my questions involve practicing the satipatthana sutta itself. i haven't seen anywhere that really addresses each technique and how and when they are to be practiced. also i practice jhana meditation which is definitely listed in the maha satipatthana sutta and i wonder how to fit this in with the mahasi technique.

alan... wrote:mostly my questions involve practicing the satipatthana sutta itself. i haven't seen anywhere that really addresses each technique and how and when they are to be practiced. also i practice jhana meditation which is definitely listed in the maha satipatthana sutta and i wonder how to fit this in with the mahasi technique.

The way I see it, the basic Mahasi approach, as explained in the links I gave above, is to use a "primary object" (abdominal or body motion when sitting or walking) as a basis to develop samadhi. In terms of the satipatthana sutta this is the first section. The "secondary objects" that should be noted as they arise cover the other three sections: feeling (pain or whatever), mind states (happy, sad, whatever), and dhammas (thoughts, and so on).

alan... wrote:mostly my questions involve practicing the satipatthana sutta itself. i haven't seen anywhere that really addresses each technique and how and when they are to be practiced. also i practice jhana meditation which is definitely listed in the maha satipatthana sutta and i wonder how to fit this in with the mahasi technique.

The way I see it, the basic Mahasi approach, as explained in the links I gave above, is to use a "primary object" (abdominal or body motion when sitting or walking) as a basis to develop samadhi. In terms of the satipatthana sutta this is the first section. The "secondary objects" that should be noted as they arise cover the other three sections: feeling (pain or whatever), mind states (happy, sad, whatever), and dhammas (thoughts, and so on).

alan... wrote: also i practice jhana meditation which is definitely listed in the maha satipatthana sutta and i wonder how to fit this in with the mahasi technique.

It depends upon what you mean by jhana.

jhana as described in the suttas.

And as has been pointed out more than once in various discussions of jhana, the "sutta jhanas" looks to be pretty much identical with the vipasssana jhanas, a way of looking at things that has come out of the Mahasi Sayadaw tradition.

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723

>> Do you see a man wise[enlightened/ariya]in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<<-- Proverbs 26:12

alan... wrote:Us there anything in Sayādaw U Pandita's work that is not already covered in the others I mentioned?

Yes. There are many details in the book that are not found elsewhere. In This Very Life is the result of a series of lectures given by the Sayādaw during an intensive 3 month retreat at Barre, Mass. The talks were translated from Burmese to English during the retreat by U Aggacitta, and the tape recordings were meticulously transcribed and edited by several others.

Sayādaw U Paṇḍita is one of the leading disciples of the Mahāsi Sayādaw. During my stay at Mahāsi Yeikthā in 1979, he gave us a number of inspiring Dhamma talks (interpreted by Burmese doctors and others). I always looked forward to his talks — they were not like the talks given by the other meditation masters there, which to be honest were rather dull (just basic instructions and encouraging words to be more mindful). He always had something interesting to say.

In This Very Life is probably the best book available in English on the practical aspects of the Mahāsi Satipaṭṭhāna method (including the books available in English translated from the Mahāsi Sayādaw's own lectures), but it is not for the superficial or casual reader. One should not try to read it all at one sitting, but take at most one chapter at a time. Then do some more practice.

I've been reading and listening to Patrick Kearney's stuff recently. I was just wondering how related his teachings are to Mahasi's as it seems that he practices in that tradition but I'm not sure exactly how closely he sticks to it. Is he a good source for understanding the Mahasi method?

"I don't envision a single thing that, when developed & cultivated, leads to such great benefit as the mind. The mind, when developed & cultivated, leads to great benefit."

"I don't envision a single thing that, when undeveloped & uncultivated, brings about such suffering & stress as the mind. The mind, when undeveloped & uncultivated, brings about suffering & stress."

---The trouble is that you think you have time------Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe------It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---

polarbuddha101 wrote:I've been reading and listening to Patrick Kearney's stuff recently. I was just wondering how related his teachings are to Mahasi's as it seems that he practices in that tradition but I'm not sure exactly how closely he sticks to it. Is he a good source for understanding the Mahasi method?

I too have been listening to Kearney recently. Another person well versed that uses the Mahasi method is Gil Fronsdal. I have been reading and listening a lot to him also.

maha metta

"whatever one frequently thinks and ponders upon will be the inclination of one's mind"

one thing i am not clear on is the difference in the mahasi method of the bodily formation from the commentary version.

in the commentaries it says one should contemplate the arising and falling of the body by way of it's dissolution and other things. mahasi says one should see it's literal rise and fall as in the abdomen rising and falling in breathing, the feet rising and falling when walking, and so on.

both methods make sense. the mahasi one is a little more practical though, to watch ones body literally rise and fall is easier than contemplating it's dissolution and rebirth through intellectual inference.

polarbuddha101 wrote:I've been reading and listening to Patrick Kearney's stuff recently. I was just wondering how related his teachings are to Mahasi's as it seems that he practices in that tradition but I'm not sure exactly how closely he sticks to it. Is he a good source for understanding the Mahasi method?

I too have been listening to Kearney recently. Another person well versed that uses the Mahasi method is Gil Fronsdal. I have been reading and listening a lot to him also.

maha metta

Yeah, I found out about him (Kearney that is, I've been listening to Fronsdal for a while now) from a topic that I'm pretty sure you started a few weeks ago, so thanks a bunch for that! He's got a lot of good stuff to say, and write. I don't use the mahasi technique when I meditate but it isn't all that different from what I do and I'm interested in what other teachers have to say about the dhamma even if I don't use the specific 'tricks' or the exact technique that they do.

Metta

"I don't envision a single thing that, when developed & cultivated, leads to such great benefit as the mind. The mind, when developed & cultivated, leads to great benefit."

"I don't envision a single thing that, when undeveloped & uncultivated, brings about such suffering & stress as the mind. The mind, when undeveloped & uncultivated, brings about suffering & stress."